Not refinancing, already have a 5% fixed rate loan on a 30 year mortgage and don’t think I can do better than that.

I did go and grab a loan at 4% to do some much needed renovations on my house. And yes, they are paying me to borrow money – I didn’t need the cash right away so its sitting in a 4.5% 6 month CD at the same bank.

My mortgage rate is already low enough not to bother with, but I did sleep at a Holiday… uh, I did get a HELOC at a sweet rate to do some home improving with. And I’ve already spent 3/4 of it buying a metal roof that should outlast us all 🙂

The answer depends on what your current interest rate is, and how long you plan on staying at your current residence. Refinance charges are typically a couple thousand bucks. Each person has to ask themselves if the savings in interest charges is enough to cover cost of refinancing.

We refinanced to a 15 year mortgage three years ago at 5.75% so we’re pretty happy, and we plan to move in the the next few years, so for us it doesn’t make sense to refinance.

My rate is 6.0% (got it in late 2002), and the best rate I’ve seen advertised for a refinance is something like 5.2%. That’s not worth the hassle and the closing costs, as far as I can tell. If I could manage to refinance at less than 5%, and get rid of PMI in the process, I’d probably think about it. But I’m scheduled to be rid of PMI in about a year, anyway, so the $450 or so that I’d save on that is probably outweighed by the closing costs anyway.

Speaking of PMI, anybody know what the terms for getting rid of it usually are? Is it a principal balance 78% of original loan value, or of originally appraised value, or of current appraised value?

yes am in the early part of a 60 day process to refi and just floated it down from their initial offer of 5.375% to 4.75% based on the new drop by the fed. I had had one of those nasty loans that was running at 7 up to 9% that i had wamu convert to fixed 6.5% back last may. So this be one person who cleaned up his own nasty loan… and without a bailout mind you. If rates go lower, i expect them to bottom before end of january… and will float to whatever bottom rate i can get.

The premium on jumbo mortgages is HUGE right now. Very unusual, but it means there aren’t going to be many jumbo refi’s until that imbalance settles. I’ve got a pretty good ARM so I’m not concerned but it would have been nice to jump to a fixed if the rates were there.

We purchased in 2003, on a 30 year loan at 4 7/8. If rates on the 15 year go down to 4.25% or lower, I’ll seriously consider refinancing down to a 15 year mortgage, if I can roll in the HELOC and still remain at 80% or better LTV.

I’m waiting for (don’t laugh!) 4.0%. We’re currently paying on a 4.75% loan (re-fied down from 5.5% in 2001), and I feel fairly confident that further (steep) drops are just around the bend. Things are still good here in Alaska; not many foreclosures.

I got a great rate four years ago with a 5/1 ARM at 4.5%. I’m looking to see how low rates go before refinancing. Ideally I’d like to switch to a 30-year fixed rate of 4.5% with little or no points or closing costs — effectively keeping my current loan rate but eliminating the risk of adjustments.

Since I’ve got excellent credit and plenty of equity, I think I may actually be able to pull it off if rates keep dropping. Also, my deadline of February 2010 to refinance before my mortgage rate adjusts is now looking like a soft deadline. Checking the LIBOR rate, an adjustment as of today would only bump my rate to 4.67%. Who knows, by next year my adjustable rate may actually go down! (Although I’d still like to lock in a low rate.)

I am a mortgage loan officer for Wells Fargo. I have refinanced 30 mortgages in the last two weeks from 4.50% to 4.875% on 15 and 30 year mortgages. Call a local lender and refinance. It’s a terrific Christmas present for all Americans. I have doing this for 13 years and I can’t believe how low rates are.